Why is it...that journalists and people supposedly "in the know" don't do their research when they post economic data creating an environment of FALSE HOPE, when reporting the facts will help all of us work smarter?Why Is It?

Ok, I admit it...I'M A NEWS JUNKIE!

The one thing I hate more than anything is when so called journalists create headlines that create false hope, only highlighting what "they" want their readers to know. 90%+ of the time, they hide the real facts....WHY IS IT do you think? Because some research clown says that we only want good news, or maybe news has to be entertaining, who knows? What I do know is that those people/companies that are well educated and focused on the "real world" are those companies succeeding

As you will quickly realize, I'm not a person that believes much of what I hear or what the news headlines try and report. I ALWAYS do my due diligence and search for the real data in order to contribute something meaningful. So with that said, you may want to stop reading the rest of this article, because what I'm about to report is NOT good for the retail economy.

Why would I be such a HERETIC.... you ask? Because I really care about retail, especially the home furnishing industry

What is a Heretic you ask? It's a person holding an opinion at odds with what is generally accepted.

So here I go. The goal in reporting the truth behind the headlines is so retailers and brands can prepare for the "worst case scenario". If you prepare, you don't get ambushed, if you don't, consider yourself a statistic.

This is apolitical. As far as I'm concerned, most, if not all politicians, are not ethical and seem to be more interested in rhetoric and their reelection than addressing real problems surrounding our economy. They focus on social issues and forget the socio-economic crisis consumers are having that directly lead to consequences for brands and retailers.

First I'm going to show you the REAL state of the economy as it pertains to employment, then over 100 facts/links to show you that all is NOT good in our economy. The Government would like to claim that the recession is over, BUT they've been skewing the unemployment numbers since 1998 to NOT COUNT people who are chronically unemployed and not receiving any unemployment benefits. (REALLY...you use all your unemployment benefits, get kicked out of the system and you're not counted? Only with government accounting does this work)!

Why Is It Everyone Thinks The Unemployment Rate is 5.3% When It Is Not?UnemploymentThe government tells us that 8.69 million Americansare “officially unemployed” and that 92.90 million Americansare considered to be “not in the labor force”. That means that more than 101 million U.S. adults do not have a job right now.

Why is it they say unemployment is 5.3%. How is that calculated when the BLS reports that 93,770,000 people (16 and older) were neither employed last month nor had made specific efforts to find work in the prior four weeks?

The number of people outside the workforce in July increased 144,000 over June’s record when 93,626,000 were not in the workforce.

July’s labor force participation rate however remained the same as June at 62.6 percent. Before last month the labor force participation rate had not been that low since October 1977, when the participation rate was 62.4 percent.

The BLS reports that the civilian labor force did experience a slight uptick from 157,037,000 in June to 157,106,000 in July after the month of June saw it drop by 432,000.

While the labor participation rate remains at the lowest it's been since the late 1970s, the BLS highlighted that the unemployment rate remained at 5.3 percent and nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 215,000.

You figure it out, I can't

WHY IS IT... EVERYONE STATES NEW HOUSING STARTS ARE AT RECORD LEVELS, WHEN THEY ARE NOT?HOME OWNERSHIP

Furniture Today Magazine has labeled Bill Napier as being a “disruptor” in the home furnishing industry and he loves that moniker!

In the 90’s, Bill’s marketing agency PMA Network (Promotional Marketing Associates, Inc.), with offices in Minneapolis and Chicago, launched many consumer brands, as well as being a strategic consultant for The Times Square Millennium celebration.

He was hired by Ashley Furniture in 2000 as their Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and was blessed to be part of their astronomic growth from $800MM – $2.7BN over his 5-year tenure.

Bill is also a featured writer and speaker in the retail industry. His vast understanding of the issues retailers and brands face to compete in the digital arena, coupled with his humorous interpretation of his knowledge of trends, facts and solutions for helping companies compete, makes for an engaging and informative session for every brand or retailer that attends his sessions.

His passion is to help retail brands & brick mortar retailers grow their business by creating, guiding and deploying successful marketing B2B/B2C solutions integrating traditional marketing with the web/social media.

Bill can be contacted at:billnapier@napiermkt.com612-217-1297www.napiermkt.com

Napier Marketing Group is a leading B2B and B2C marketing & consulting agency servicing brands and retailers in a variety of industries throughout North America, including; the home furnishings industry, the technology industry, consumer products, retail, manufacturing and other industries that are focused on brands, retailers and suppliers that want to create market penetration and sales velocity.​​ We have an unwavering passion to drive velocity for both brands, retailers & their suppliers. We focus on where you are going to connect your brand with your customers throughout their journey. Let us show you how great creative and a well-thought-out strategy - complemented by tactical execution - can outsmart your competition... without having to outspend them.